


In Precious Memory

by TheOnlyTarkles



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One)
Genre: And Carly's down for socking Shockwave, Bittersweet, But I wanted to figure out why the canon was like this, Car Wash - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Interpretation of Canon, Ironhide's a gentleman, It's sad and not fair, Memorials, Mention of Death, Mutual Pining, Other than "because the writers are stupid"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29741379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOnlyTarkles/pseuds/TheOnlyTarkles
Summary: Carly and Ironhide deserved to be a couple in the cartoon. So why didn't they wind up together?
Relationships: Ironhide/Carly
Kudos: 7





	In Precious Memory

"Aw, rust buckets!" Ironhide swore, kneeling and holding out a hand to shield Carly from the abrupt rainfall that interrupted their scenic walk. "This wasn't s'posed ta happen! Don't worry, Carly, I'll getcha outta this unharmed! Just gotta find cover!"

Carly couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "Unharmed, huh? You're such a gentleman, Ironhide. But what are you worried for?"

The red mech blinked at her. "Whaddaya mean? This is acid rain! Nasty stuff that can putcha on the scrap pile if yer exposed for too long!"

Carly shook her head. "No, no, silly. This isn't acid rain."

"It's not?"

"Not at all. Just regular rain."

Ironhide turned his gaze up to the dark clouds above actively working to drench them. "We ain't got that stuff back on Cybertron. What's regular rain do?"

"I'll show you what it does. Watch." The young woman stepped out from under the giant soldier's hand and stretched her arms out to her sides, tilting her head up so she got a nice face full of rain droplets. The water wasted no time seeping into her clothes, running down her skin, and weighing down her bouncy blonde hair. It was one of those cold, but refreshing rainfalls. The kind she would walk around in without her umbrella on days she felt glum.

Ironhide's optics were on her, watching with mild intrigue. He was quiet until she lowered her arms and met his gaze. "You didn't have to get all soggy to let me know what regular rain does. Now who's the silly one?"

Carly laughed and beamed up at him. "I like the feeling."

Ironhide smiled down at her warmly. "You sure did look happy in the moment. So I take it that this rain hasn't ruined our li'l walk?"

"Not at all!"

"Great, 'cause I—" Ironhide blinked and held up an index finger. "Hold that thought. What is it, Optimus?" Carly waited patiently as the soldier listened to whatever his leader was telling him. The red bot's face screwed up to express frustration. "Again? _Now_? …All right, I'll meetcha guys there."

"Decepticons running amok?" The woman asked, tilting her head curiously.

Ironhide sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Carly. I wanted ta keep goin’, but duty calls. Can I drive ya back to yer car?"

"Oh, don't you worry about me," she replied dismissively. "I can handle a little rain and my car's not too far. You need to go help out your friends. We'll do this again later. Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ironhide got to his feet. "You take care on your way home, then."

Carly shot him a broad grin and a thumbs up. "Go slay 'em, tiger!"

The red bot returned the grin, tickled by the confidence she had in him. "Enjoy the rain, li'l lady," he said, then transformed and swiftly drove away.

She felt her face flush a bit as she watched him move out of sight. Once she couldn't see him anymore, she began the slow walk back to her car, letting the drops further dowse her as her mind lingered on the red soldier.

**[Time Passed]**

"And he just flat out shot my car out of existence!" Carly raged, pacing back and forth in front of Ironhide, who was leaning against the side of her apartment building with folded arms, looking amused. "Oh, I wanted to clock him so hard! I worked for _years_ saving up for that car!"

"I think ya coulda taken Shockwave. You're a strong girl."

"I could have," she agreed, "but that's not the point. I'm out of a car! Without one, it's going to be hard getting around to where I need to go in a timely manner!"

"If it's a car you need, ya just hafta ask," the red bot offered.

"Oh, Ironhide," Carly stopped her pacing and turned to look up at him. "You're so thoughtful, but I just couldn't inconvenience you like that."

"It wouldn't be any trouble!" He insisted.

"But you've got an important job! What if the Decepticons attacked while you were carting me around and your friends needed you with them?"

"Aw, they can make it without me!" The soldier dismissed, straightening up. "They're no pushovers."

The woman shook her head. "You're really kind to offer, Ironhide, but I just can't make you play taxi for me. You're too important to waste your time toting a human around for small things."

Ironhide fixed her with a small squint. "Carly. You know me. I don't just lug humans around for the fun of it. And you're not just _any_ human. You're _my friend_ and I don't wanna leave ya hanging when I can do somethin' for ya."

Carly's expression eased up to a small, but warm smile. "…All right, Ironhide. You win. You can drive me around. In fact, there's somewhere I need to go right now."

The bot perked up and gave her a grin. "I knew you'd see reason." The Autobot promptly transformed and opened his driver's side door for her. "Where ya gotta go, li'l lady?"

Carly climbed in and buckled up. "There's a used car dealership just across the city. You can take me there and help me pick out a new car," she said smugly, shutting his door.

There was silence for a minute. "You're a real piece o' work, you know that?"

The blonde laughed and rubbed his dashboard with a hand. "I'm going to need one sooner or later, Ironhide. I can't use your hospitality forever. Normally I'd go pick one with my dad, but I think your opinion will be better."

"You're just tryin' ta butter me up," the soldier huffed.

Carly tilted her head with a smirk. "Is it working?"

Ironhide was silent for a moment more before he released a small sigh and started moving. "Just gimme directions, ya troublemaker."

"If it makes you feel any better," she replied, "if you want to pick me up for our hang outs, I won't raise a fuss."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Then when we hang out, I'll be your escort," he said decidedly before diverging the topic. "So about the kinda car ya want. I think you should get something sturdy, so you—"

Carly leaned back in Ironhide's seat and listened to his advice with a warm smile. Overall, he believed in getting her a car that had her safety in mind.

"Somethin' sturdy, but quick. That way, if you can't get outta danger fast enough, it can tank the blow. Kinda like me. Actually exactly like me. Maybe you should look for the model I'm based off of. Wait... Nevermind. I don't wantcha preferring _it_ o'er me."

Carly giggled. Such a gentleman.

**[Time Passed]**

A tap came at Carly's window. Obviously that was Ironhide. But why, though? Had they planned to hang out today and she'd been so busy she'd forgotten about it? Oh well, she'd better not keep him waiting and go find out. The girl jogged over to her window and opened it up with a smile, only for it to disappear immediately along with the greeting that had been about to escape her mouth.

Ironhide looked utterly miserable. His usual confident posture was nowhere to be seen, and his expression as if someone had just told him he had one day to live. He opened his mouth to say something, but the poor guy seemed to struggle for a minute before finally giving up and shutting it again.

So it was up to Carly to initialize. "Ironhide? What's wrong?"

"…Chromia was killed in action…" he eventually murmured.

Carly widened her eyes and gasped with astonishment.

He continued. "Shockwave had the girls cornered... She held 'im back so they could have enough of a window to escape... But..." The red soldier trailed off after his voice cracked and clenched his jaw.

The young woman's heart throbbed with sympathy for him. Gently, she reached out to rest her hand against his cheek and watched him lean into the touch. "Oh Ironhide... I'm so sorry... I can only imagine how much this hurts..."

Coolant built up in the mech's optics and dripped down his cheeks, moistening her hand. "She was a real warrior and friend... Couldn't've asked for better…”

“Should we take this somewhere more private?” Carly offered softly.

Ironhide had to think about that longer than he usually would before he gave her a nod. Normally he would transform and wait for her to come down. This time, he held a palm up to her window and stayed in robot mode. He waited as Carly quickly snatched her apartment keys before climbing through the window to have a seat on his palm, shutting the window behind her before the mech walked them away from the building. It didn’t appear like he had anywhere in particular in mind. His legs were moving, but it was obvious his mind was focused elsewhere.

Once they were a decent distance from the city, Carly spoke up. “Is this quiet enough?”

The red soldier paused to look around with a weary gaze. Slowly, he nodded at her and sat down, depositing her on his shoulder before letting his arms drop to rest on his legs. He sniffed and wiped at the tear trails left on his cheeks. “Them’s the breaks of war… We knew that. We always knew that. But it just… In all the years we’d spent offline on this planet, I’d forgotten…”

The blonde leaned toward the side of his helm and pressed herself into it, both hands raised to give him empathetic rubs as she nuzzled him with her cheek. There was nothing she could say to help fix this. Besides, he didn’t need someone to offer a fix for him right now. What he needed was someone to listen and love on him as he worked through his grief. And Carly could do that no problem.

“What makes matters worse,” Ironhide continued through gritted teeth, “’s that I can’t get back at the spawn of a glitch, an’ I can’t be there for her memorial ceremony…”

“I’m sorry, Ironhide. I should have given Shockwave what for while I was on Cybertron,” Carly said, straightening up to allow him head movement.

The old mech cracked a smile and croaked a laugh before turning his head slightly to look at her. “Naww, Carly, you had ta stay alive. I appreciate the thought, though.”

“Why don’t we hold our own memorial ceremony, then?” The young woman offered. “You shouldn’t have to be on Cybertron in order for that to happen.”

“But… Where would her statue go? An’ who would even build the thing, for that matter?”

Carly pulled out her address book and waved it a little. “I can make some arrangements if you don’t mind a scaled down version. Otherwise, I’m sure someone on the Ark can try and make it. And as for location, why not place her statue somewhere you think she would like? Or somewhere you hold sacred in your heart that you visit repeatedly?”

Ironhide thought about it for several long, quiet minutes, really contemplating what she just offered in terms of solutions. “I’ll… get back to you on that,” he eventually decided. “Thanks, Carly.”

“You’re always welcome, Ironhide.”

He gave her a tiny, but genuine smile for a few seconds before he could no longer keep it up and let it slowly sag into a frown again. “Do you have anywhere you need ta be?”

“It’s my day off today, and I had no plans,” she replied.

“Can… we stay like this for a while?” He asked tentatively.

“Of course, Ironhide. I’ll be right here for when you need me for as long as you need.”

The red soldier leaned his head into her to gingerly express his appreciation and they proceeded to sit in silence.

**[Time Passed]**

Ironhide rumbled with satisfaction as Carly ran a soap-soaked sponge over his hood and doors. The most recent Decepticon battle left him a muddy disaster and with the memorial for Chromia being held within an hour, that wouldn’t stand. He’d tried his best to clean himself off back at the Ark and had come merely to pick Carly up, but when she saw his armor still spotty, she practically commanded him to let her finish the job. He gave in and transformed into vehicle mode to make things easier for her to reach.

“Honestly, I don’t know what you were thinking,” Carly grunted, putting some elbow grease into a particularly stubborn spot.

“I was thinkin’ I looked clean enough,” Ironhide replied.

“Think again!” The young woman exclaimed. “You can’t show up to the memorial with mud spots everywhere!”

“You shoulda seen me before.”

“Regardless, you just can’t do that. And once all the mud is gone, you’re getting a wax coating.”

“Aw, Carly—” Ironhide started.

“Ah ah!” She interrupted. “You want to look your best for your friend! I’m going to be primping myself up for the occasion, too.”

“Guess I’m just not used ta having the time ta do this stuff,” the old mech mused. “Past memorials had ta be quick, so we didn’t bother making ourselves look all fancy.”

“Well, now that you have the time, we’re going to do this properly.” Carly finished up soaking the mud spots with soap, then grabbed the garden hose and began rinsing him off.

“At least this feels nice. D’you mind if we do this again sometime?” He asked.

Carly smiled. “Giving you a car wash?”

“If that’s alright,” Ironhide confirmed. “It feels good on the ol’ plating.”

“I’m sure I could fit another one into my _busy_ schedule,” she replied with a small giggle. “You better not show up so muddy that I have to shower myself afterward.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” he said. “It’s rude to get a lady all dirty.”

Once he was all rinsed off and dried, Carly set to work giving him a polish. By the time she was entirely done primping him up, she only had fifteen minutes to finish getting herself ready. Less time than she would have preferred, but still doable. She skipped putting her hair up and stuck with basic makeup applications. Lipstick and eyeshadow was serviceable enough. After checking herself in the mirror and brushing any wrinkles out of her dress, she rejoined Ironhide, who had moved to park in front of her apartment complex.

“Alright,” she puffed as she climbed in and shut his door. “We may be a little late. Better hurry.”

“The guys won’t mind waitin’ a little, Carly,” he assured, pressing his accelerator down moderately and rolling away from the complex.

“I still prefer to be on time than late.”

“Alright, but I ain’t speeding around town.”

Carly frowned. “Not even five above the speed limit?”

“Speeding’s for emergencies,” Ironhide stated. “Or races. Like that charity event. We ain’t in an all-fired hurry.”

The young woman relaxed into his chair and turned her gaze to the passing world outside. “If you’re sure.” She suddenly smiled. “Old man.”

“Yer darn right!” He shot back. “Ain’t no kid’s gonna tell me how ta drive!”

The two exchanged a laugh before falling silent for the rest of the trip. Upon reaching the Ark, Ironhide let Carly out before he transformed back into robot mode. A cluster of bots who were participating in the memorial service stood just within the main entrance, waiting. Jazz was among the few to pause what they were doing and turn their attention to the two.

“Fashionably late!” Jazz whistled. “Never thought I’d see ya as shiny as Sunny, ‘Hide!”

Ironhide chuckled. “You can pass any comments to the li’l lady that insisted.”

“It is a good look on him, Carly,” Optimus complimented, giving her a thumbs up. “And of course you’re looking lovely, as well.”

Carly beamed up at him. “Thank you, Optimus. I only wish he left me enough time to finish.”

The red soldier scoffed. “Ya don’t need to go overboard with the looks, Carly. Chromia wouldn’t pay it any mind.”

Optimus Prime took a moment to do a headcount, then addressed the group, making them all fall silent. “It appears this is everyone who will be participating. Ironhide, you were one of those closest to Chromia. Do you want to take the lead of the service?”

Ironhide took a moment to think it over seriously before replying, “I think I would, Prime.”

“Very well, old friend. We will all be behind you. Lead on.”

Mirage stepped forward with a statue of Chromia the height of his calf clutched gently in his hands, and held it out in offering to him.

The red mech carefully took it from him and waited as Optimus knelt down to offer Carly a ride in the palm of his hand. Once the Autobot leader straightened back up with human in hand, Ironhide called out the order. “Autobots! Attention!”

The group of mechs filed into two lines of pairs and straightened themselves up, standing at attention behind the memorial service leader.

“Autobots! Forward march!”

As one, the group marched out of the Ark, silent and reverent as they went to pay their respects to their fallen comrade.

**[Time Passed]**

"That shouldn't stop us from being a thing!"

Ironhide was kneeling on one knee to put himself closer to her eye level, giving Carly a wary look. "Carly," he murmured gently.

"Ironhide, I _love you_! Isn't that enough? You being a giant robot shouldn't amount to anything!" she insisted.

"Carly," he repeated, lowering a hand to cup around her, "it's not just that. I'm an old mech."

"I don't care about your age, either! Powerglide and Estoria aren't letting their differences get in the way, so why are you?!" Tears began to build in the young woman's eyes. "If you don't return my feelings, just say it and stop coming up with excuses!" She resisted the urge to bring Chromia up, but she was certain the reason why he was rejecting her was because his heart was too settled on _her_.

Despite the sharpness of her tone, Ironhide didn't wince. He fixed her with a firm expression. "Carly. I _love_ you. An' I _know_ you. I know what you want, an' I wish from the bottom of my spark that I could give it to ya. But I _can't_. I can't give you kids. I can't get a job and support ya in the way a human needs."

The built up tears streamed down the young woman's face, her bottom lip quivering as she struggled to compose herself. She knew he was absolutely right, but it wasn't _fair_!

Ironhide continued with a softer expression that betrayed feelings of lonely desire. "I _want_ to be your man so badly... an' what I wouldn't give ta be with a smart, talented, an' gorgeous woman like yerself. But I love ya too much ta letcha hold yerself back for my sake. You can find yerself a nice human and get that family ya always wanted. You can do something with those smarts. I've accepted that those plans can't involve me..."

"Oh no, please don't say it like that!" Carly sobbed, leaning into his hand and nuzzling it. "Please tell me we can still see each other! I don't want this to ruin what we have!"

"Leakin' lubricant," Ironhide cursed at himself and rubbed a soothing thumb against her. "I'm sorry, Carly, I didn't mean it like that. Of course we can still see each other. I don't wanna give this up, either. I'd hafta be real half-clocked ta do that."

The young woman sniffled and wiped a palm across her tears as she looked up to meet the soldier's gaze. "...Ironhide... May I have one kiss...? Just one...?"

If it were possible for Ironhide's expression to melt anymore than it already had, then it happened. "Sure, m'lady," he granted, moving his hand to sit against the floor palm up for her to step on. Once she'd done that, he brought her up so that she was at face-level with him. He tilted his head slightly to the side for her.

Tenderly, Carly reached out to place her hands on both his cheeks. She let them softly caress the old mech's jawline before she slowly leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. They were much larger than hers, but that didn't matter. She wanted them and just this once—with his permission—they were hers to love.

Carly let their lips linger together, then hesitantly pulled back a few centimeters only to immediately change her mind and press them back against his, shutting her eyes and repeatedly giving him short but meaningful pecks. She appreciated that Ironhide let her lose herself in the moment without complaint. He did nothing to move away from the affection. If anything, she felt him relax and looked up to see his optics shut. Reluctantly, she regained control of herself and gave him one final longer kiss before stopping it entirely. In exchange, she settled for leaning against his cheek and nuzzling him.

Ironhide carefully moved his head back and forth a tad, returning the nuzzle. "Feeling a li'l better?"

"No," the young woman croaked quietly, "but thank you..."

The room was silent with the exception of distant footsteps and chatter coming from the other bots in the Ark. After a minute the older bot spoke up again. "Tell you what. I need to go have a small lie down. Care to join me?"

"I'd... like that a lot, Ironhide. Thank you."

"Any time, m'lady."

**[Time Passed]**

"Isn't he beautiful?"

Ironhide gazed down at Carly and her month-old baby fondly, sitting in the grass beside them and enjoying the sunshine. "He surely is," the red bot agreed. "He takes after his mother. Just look at his nose. Cute as a button."

The young woman giggled. "You shameless flirt!"

He shrugged and shot her a cheeky grin. "I'm just statin' the facts."

"Well, I'm sure he'll grow up to be as fearless as his godfather," she retorted, returning his grin.

The statement visibly confused the mech. "What's a godfather?"

"A godfather is someone the parents of a child choose to be a part of the child's upbringing. A key influence. And if something happens to the parents, guardianship of the child would go to them."

"Oh, so an extra parent. Who's the tyke's godfather? Chip?" He inquired.

Carly lowered her gaze to the baby curled up in her arms, sound asleep. "Spike and I talked it through. We've decided that Daniel will have two godfathers. Chip is one, yes. He's a natural choice. But I wanted the second one to be you. If something happens to me and Spike, Chip can provide for his human cares but I'd like you to teach him your morals and ideals."

Ironhide stared down at her with mild astonishment, shifting his optics from her to the baby, unsure how to react. "…You want… _me_ to help raise 'im?"

"It would be incredibly helpful and mean a lot to me. Of course, if you don't want to, I'll respect that and we'll find someone else."

The bot looked torn. "I'd love to, Carly, I really would. I'd be honored, even! But I don't know the first thing about kids."

"Sure you do! You handle Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Cliffjumper all the time, don't you?" She pointed out.

He had to think about this for a minute. "That's true," he eventually admitted, "but they're not teeny tiny, squishy organics."

The mother shook her head dismissively before looking back up at him. "That hasn't stopped you from socializing with us humans. You'll do just fine, Ironhide. I truly believe that."

The red mech smiled. "Well... Alright. If you really think I'd be a good fit, I'll try to fit those expectations." He raised his forearm and formed his hand into a fist, smirking confidently. "That kid'll be the best li'l tyke you could ever ask for!"

The young woman beamed up at him. "I know he will. He's got the best godfather he could learn from, after all."

**[Time Passed]**

She stared up at Rodimus Prime at the podium as if he'd just told her the universe was due to explode. The new leader of the Autobots had called together a large ceremonial meeting to pay respects to those who were lost in the most recent fight with the Decepticons and Unicron. So much had happened in those forty-eight hours. So many dead... Her heart twisted with each name read off the list. Optimus Prime, Prowl, Windcharger, Brawn, Wheeljack, Ratchet, Ironhi—

A cold wave of nausea crashed into her and she quickly rose a hand up to cover her mouth.

...Ironhide...

The room gradually started to blur and warp, dizziness setting in and making the nausea worse. She couldn't think. She couldn't stay. Her legs wobbling, they numbly moved her away from where she stood, rushing her out of the auditorium. It was getting harder to breathe as a knot formed in her throat, and her sight was getting worse as hot tears welled up in her eyes. She could hear Rodimus continuing the memorial ceremony, but if he was speaking anything coherent, it wasn't registering.

The capital halls were empty and near silent the further from the auditorium she got. Once she could hear the new Autobot leader no longer, she stopped and dropped to her hands and knees, panting and gasping for breath with tears streaming freely down her cheeks. She shakily shifted herself to curl up on the floor and hugged herself, giving in to her emotions and wailing with grief and pain.

Why?! Why him?! He was supposed to outlive _her_ , not the other way around! He'd barely gotten much time to spend with Daniel! Now her son wouldn't get any more time to spend with his godfather! He was only ten, he would probably forget about his time spent with Ironhide altogether! And—!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a large, gentle hand suddenly resting a couple fingers on her arm. She sniffled and gasped for air as she tried to calm herself enough to look up at the bot who was touching her. She could only make out blurry shapes with black and white coloring through her tears. The bot was quiet for a minute before he spoke up.

"I know... Let it all out, Carly..."

She didn't need convincing. Her waterworks weren't done by a long shot. The young woman gritted her teeth and hid her face in her hands, continuing to bawl. She heard the bot who'd come out of the assembly after her shift his hand, and she let him tenderly pick her up and cradle her in it. She felt him move to go sit against the side of the hall instead of smack dab in the middle of it.

"We lost a lot of good friends..." Came Jazz's voice, it being a bit more distinguishable than before, but the once-was-second-in-command was clearly hurting as well. His voice had breaks and was scratchy. "Great bots... They'll be missed…" He fell quiet and didn’t speak up again for a while, letting Carly’s wailing wear itself out.

By the time she was able to get ahold of herself to a certain degree, her throat was sore and her eyes stung from all the tears passing through them. They still weren’t done, but she had at least been able to quiet herself. The woman tried to say something to Jazz. Anything. How it wasn’t fair. How she and Ironhide and Daniel still had so much to do together. How much she wanted him back. Nothing much that was coherent escaped her.

It appeared, however, that Jazz didn’t need her words to understand what she was trying to tell him. He stroked her back with a soothing thumb. “I know. I know… It ain’t fair… Primus, I wish I’d been there to help ‘em…” He drew in a shaky deep breath. “My team… My friends… Life’s kinda cruel like that… But… we gotta keep living, for their sake. A statue is nice an’ all, but that won’t keep their legacy alive. Y’know?”

Carly sniffled and palmed at her eyes to clear them. “Huh…?” She croaked out.

Jazz shifted his head to look down at her. “We gotta remember them for those who can’t. Share their stories. The good and the bad times. We do that, an’ they’ll keep on livin’ in here.” He tapped a finger against the hood of his chestpiece. “See?”

It took her a bit to process that, but once the speech settled in, it made her chest feel warm. If Carly talked with Daniel about Ironhide and what she knew… he wouldn’t be forgotten. Daniel could still grow up with him, despite the mech no longer being there. Carly burst into more tears and hugged what she could of Jazz’s hand. “Thank you…!” She cried out.

“We’ll make it through together, Carly,” Jazz murmured tenderly. “For them.”

**[Time Passed]**

Daniel was careful and reverent as he set down the candle in front of Ironhide’s memorial statue beside the bouquet of flowers his mother had placed as her offering. He let his gaze turn up to look over the statue. While he hadn’t known Ironhide for as long as his mother had, he still had a few memories of him. Daniel smiled up at the large stone mech standing bravely on his pedestal before them.

Carly cast a glance down at her son. “What are you thinking of?” She asked softly.

“I’m just remembering,” he replied simply.

“Remembering?”

“Yeah. Like the time Ironhide taught me how to stand up for myself ‘cause those mean kids in school kept picking on me,” Daniel elaborated. “I remember he said bullies are cowards who talk tough in groups or behind masks but they all have weaknesses and they hate their weaknesses, so they take it out on others.”

Carly gained a fond expression. “That sounds like him. And he is right. Did what he said help you?”

Daniel beamed up at her. “Yeah. I found out why they kept making fun of me and embarrassed some of them into stopping. The others just kept doing it, but I stopped caring.”

“What else do you remember of him, Daniel?” His mother encouraged.

“I remember him trying to show me some fighting moves because I begged him, but in the end I only really learned how to punch straight and block.” Daniel took a moment to demonstrate a few times before grinning and rubbing the back of his head. “I sucked at the other moves. He said it was because I’m still growing and need more practice.”

“Are you still interested? I’m sure we can find you a self-defense tutor.”

Daniel perked up excitedly. “Really??”

“Of course!”

“Yeah, I wanna learn! I wanna learn how to beat up bad guys so I can protect you for Ironhide! He made me promise!”

Carly’s heart gave a sharp squeeze and she lost her smile, making her son lose his and give her a worried look.

“Mom?”

“When was this…?”

“The day before he left for Cybertron with the other Autobots to fight the Decepticons.”

His last interaction he had with Carly and her family before he left. Before he… Tears began welling up in the woman’s eyes and she raised a hand to cover her mouth. Ironhide…

Daniel took hold of her other hand. “Mom…? Did I make you sad…? Do you not want me to learn fighting…?”

Carly sniffed and shook her head. “No, Daniel,” she assured, wiping away at her eyes. “Nothing like that. It’s important to know how to defend yourself and those you love. We’ll get you tutoring.”

Her son’s worry didn’t ease much. He turned his gaze up to the statue again. “…Do you miss him?”

“Yes, Daniel… Very much…”

The little boy was silent for a moment as he appeared to do a bit of thinking. When he spoke up again, it wasn’t directed at his mother. “Ironhide? It’s Daniel. You’ve been listening, right? I’m gonna keep my promise. I’m gonna protect my mama for you. But I don’t think I can ever make her as happy as you made her. So you’ve still gotta watch over her. Got it?”

“Oh _Daniel_ ,” his mother sobbed, dropping to her knees and pulling him into a tight embrace. “You make me so, _so_ happy…! Maybe not in the same way as him, but _just_ as much…! You’re such a good boy…!”

Her son returned her hug and nuzzled her shoulder. “I wanna grow up to be like him, mom. Brave and strong to stand up for people who need it.”

“I’m sure he’d have been proud to hear you say that… I sure am. Hold on to that desire, Daniel.”

“Tell me some stories about him, mom,” her little one begged. “I wanna know him as good as you do.”

Jazz’s words returned to the front of Carly’s mind. _‘We gotta remember them for those who can’t. Share their stories.’_ Gently, she gave her son a squeeze. “Of course, Daniel. I’ll gladly share as much as I can.”

The two stayed in each other’s arms for a minute before they pulled away and took each other’s hand. Mother and son both cast their gazes to the statue one last time, each with a smile, then they turned and walked away to return to their home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my short story explanation for why Carly and Ironhide didn't wind up together! It's a sad one, I know. I'm planning on covering a "What if they DID end up together?"
> 
> So as far as what I'm thinking happens is, I can see Carly wanting an excuse to stay close to the Autobots, so marrying Spike was a logical move rather than a romantic one. And then once she had Daniel, in order to keep her feelings for Ironhide in check, it became all about making sure that Daniel and Ironhide had as much of a father/son bond as possible so that they could still have a relationship despite her and Ironhide not having theirs.


End file.
